Okay, okay, okay. Sorry this took me so long. It's just that I wrote almost all of chapter 8 on the comp. and then it just went all inaccessible on me. So, I've been kind of reluctant to start it over again because I type so slowly. Fu. Another weird thing is that lots of my friends want to read it and they don't read Inu Yasha! So, I am going to have to type up a page detailing the whole frikkin' storyline and chara descriptions for everyone so they'll all stop bugging me. It's usually just a given that if you go into a fanfic you already know the characters, but my friends just want to read it because Iwrote it.
Thank you, everyone, for the support! I hope you keep reading! I have now gotten chapters 9 and 10 written. Maybe 11, too. I don't know the division yet. It's all just a matter of typing them. Keep bugging me and maybe this will get finished!
Words you outta' know!
-chan(suffix)- suffix added to names to make them more cute. Usually reserved for girls, it can also be used for Boys' nicknames. For instance, one of my male friends insists on being called Fluctuating.
daruma- a daruma is a Japanese doll that looks kind of like a rock. They are red and have two big white eyes. You buy them when you want to accomplish something and paint in one eye. When you are finished, you paint in the other eye. Anyhoo, the reason they are in here is because they have a rounded bottom and when you push them they kind of totter for a bit but they right themselves-- like those inflatable punch dolls that you got when you were little--you know the ones I'm talkin' about--you little rascals you!
happi- no, not the long lost Japanese dwarf from snow white (he got cut out along with Stinky and Incontinent) a happi is a short, traditional coat worn by common folk.
left- the opposite of right....... sheesh..... no, really. See, in Nihon the left is way more cool than the right--just the opposite of America. Naturally, this position is reserved for men. When sitting or standing, the woman is always to the man's right.
miko- shrine-maiden, basically
onegiri- basically a riceball. They're about the size of someone's fist. Mostly shaped like a triangle and sometimes wrapped in nori(seaweed) but the rice is nevernever mixed with anything. Stuff can be ON the rice, or in it, like an umeboshi or some tuna, but the rice....aw, hell. You get the idea.
o-sake- sake is alcohol. Adding an O just makes it sound nicer and denotes that it is honorable. Sometimes it means that it is what we Americans call sake, or Japanese rice wine. It is said that it tastes better heated. The best o-sake is supposed to be served cold or chilled. The worst is supposed to be heated. I, personally, don't like the stuff at all.
Boy, am I ever long winded today. At least it was kinda funny...... I hope..... PLEASE tell me it was funny! Please?.....
Without further a doo-doo--
Chapter 8: Who is that Pervert?!?: monk-ey in the mists
It was morning when Inu-Yasha emerged from the cave she'd been in. She'd travelled as hard and fast as she could from he village in hopes of wearing herself out enough to sleep again, as she hadn't really been tired. The cave she'd spent the night in was much smaller than the first one an coming out of it, she'd felt rather cramped. The cave had been relatively hard to find at night especially since it was several miles into the forest. If she hadn't used it before she'd never have found it.
She let out a huge yawn as she cracked her neck and stretched. After that, she began to leap down the path.
Yeesh she thought in aggravation. I'm hungry..... I should have grabbed some more of that funky food outta' Kagome's bag. Fuh. She continued to leap, touching down on the path every once in a while, when, suddenly, the newness her body wore on her and she became disgusted with the feeling of her breasts bouncing against her chest.
"GOD DAMN IT!" she yelled in frustration and ground herself to a halt. She grabbed a nearby tree of relatively small size (at least, to a demon, that is...) and, uprooting it, sent it sailing through the forest with a mighty heave.
She stood there panting, waiting to hear the sound of it hitting something and was rewarded with the sound of, first bushes being crushed, and then a large, "Gwagh!!!" as it obviously landed on some innocent bystander.
At first, Inu-Yasha was surprised. Then a little happy. Then a little remorseful. She kicked a rock out of the pathway and with a loud, "FUCK," she made her way toward where the yell had come from.
Inu Yasha was feeling a little silly and reckless as she made her way through the forest seeing branches that her wooden missile had pulverized and the destruction she had caused. Finally, the forest opened up onto a little path. It was one of those old ones that ambled and had no real logic to it so you knew it had been made by animals simply following the packed and hard dirt. It was on this path that Inu Yasha found the victims of her momentary rage. The tree was not salvageable, that much she could tell. The human was another story.
She could see and smell that he was a human, alright. She noticed that he was breathing, but not moving. His face was squished into the ground and his limbs were splayed about oddly. In his hand he held a monk's staff. Inu Yasha wondered how still had ahold of it.The half-demon sighed and lifted the tree off of his back.
What happened?... I was walking through the forest when there was that awful sound, like a herd of cattle crashing through the brush. His back was burning like nothing he'd felt before and he wondered it he might have hurt it badly. He also wondered if he could move.
There was the sound of water gently flowing and he heard rustling in the bushes behind him.
The young man opened his eyes to see emerging from he bushes a strange looking...what?... demon? Those ears weren't human--neither was that hair color. The demon in question was wearing a bright red kimono which was a stark contrast to its hair. The man heard the unmistakable sound of sticks being dropped onto the ground on top of a preexisting pile.
Was the demon making a fire? He shifted a little, becoming nervous. He thought for a moment that maybe he was about to become someone's breakfast. Or lunch. Or maybe even dinner. Hell. What time was it, anyway? He began to reach for his right hand when the demon's ears twitched back in his direction.
Oh shit... he thought freezing.
The demon turned suddenly, dusted its hands off and looked at him indignantly. "Oi-- finally awake, priest?"
The raven-haired priest blinked at the demon-woman before him in surprise.
She turned back toward the pile of sticks and started arranging them into a more organized pile and stuffing twigs and leaves in the bottom as kindling.
"Sorry 'bout the tree. You prob'ly shouldn't move. I'm tryin' to catch some fish for dinner, so neither of us starve."
She grumbled to herself as she tried to start a fire with two sticks. "You know, if you'd watch where you were going this wouldn't have happened."
Oh, ho-ho! thought the priest with a smile. Fiery. "I agree with you, madam. It was entirely my fault. Is there some way I can repay you for all the trouble I've caused you?"
What is this guy up to?.... Inu Yasha paused in her fire-building with suspicion. "Die quietly?..." she muttered as a suggestion.
"I don't think my situation is that dire, miss," he said in reply.
Inu Yasha balked-- the guy'd heard her. She played it off with a scoff. "Keh! You don't know me very well," she said in a gravelly voice hoping that he'd get the point that she wasn't to be trifled with.
She was surprised when he zipped in front of her, took her hand in his and said, "I'd like to," with a smoldering look in his eyes.
Inu-Yasha stared at him, her eyes wide. She blinked.
Recovering, she threw his hands down violently and leapt back. "What the hell is wrong with you?!?"
The priest didn't miss a step and was back in front of her again quickly. "Your back got better awful damn quick," she growled as he clasped her hands in his.
"The presence of a beautiful woman will do that to me," he said laying on the charm.
"Keh," she scoffed. "Listen here, human--"
"Would you bear my child?" asked the priest with a determined and serious look on his face.
You could have heard a pin drop in the forest. Inu-Yasha faltered and was at a loss for words. "Ah?"
"Would you--"
"I heard you the first time!" she screamed throwing his hands away from her yet again.
"I take that as a 'no'," he said with disappointment.
"You got that right, Lech!" she fumed as she put some distance between the two of them and eyed him with the same expression she had used on Kagome when she'd seen her in a miko's clothes.
The priest sighed and scratched his head. "Ah, well. It was worth a shot, anyway." He traversed the distance between the two of them and held out his hand. Inu-Yasha eyed the priest suspiciously from all fours and growled lowly.
"Come one. I won't bite," he said with a smile, resisting the urge to add the word "hard".
"My name is Miroku," he said. It seemed his smile couldn't be wiped from his face.
Inu-Yasha looked him up and down, smacked his offered hand out of the way, stood up, crossed her arms and said, "Inu-Yasha."
She immediately regretted it an felt like smacking herself on her forehead.
"Inu... Yasha...?" he asked, confirming.
Fuck, she thought with a mental sneer. Shoulda' made somethin' up.
"May I call you Inu-Yasha-chan?"
She reacted to that by immediately getting in his face. "You do that and I'll rip out your heart and feed it to you!!!" she screamed with barely contained rage.
"Hm?" he asked in acknowledgement, his smile not wavering.
Inu-Yasha backed off from him in surprise. Who the hell was this pervert? That's when she felt something on her chest. She looked down at the hand resting gently on the curve of her kimono.
"Oh-- how did that get there?" said the priest innocently and he removed the offending hand before Inu-Yasha was recovered from the shock.
Unsure really of what to do after such an infraction, she went into a sort of catatonic state for a bit and Miroku the priest went over to the pile of sticks that was to be their fire and said something Inu-Yasha was in no state to understand, although it was undoubtedly a compliment about her ability to pile sticks well, as Miroku seemed to be in the habit of flattering.
After a few minutes he'd gotten a fire started and succeeded in spearing three fish which were currently roasting over the fire. He returned to the gentle stream with another stick and was trying to catch some more fish when he felt someone watching him from the bank. He turned around to see that it was Inu-Yasha giving him the look of death that beautiful women seemed to be so fond of giving him and ugly women never graced him with.
He smiled and waved hoping for some reaction. Preferably one different than the one he received which consisted of much bristling and growling on the part of the dog-demon. He turned back to his work, caught several more fish and then returned to the banks after it had begun to grow dark.
"Guess I was out longer than I thought..." he mused.
The dog-demon was still narrowing her eyes at him.
He glanced at her as she approached the bank, moved his gaze tot he fish on the fire and said, " You should eat them before they burn," with a nod.
"Fuh," she spat and wordlessly made her way toward the fire, bitterly grabbing the stick with the fish on it. She noted that it was on fire and, with a yelp, began to beat it against the ground to put the flames out. She stared tat the three blackened fish and really wished for some of Kagome's weird food.
The priest smiled gently as he unrolled his tunic which he'd pulled up to about knee level. He pointed to the fresh fish on the fire. "Perhaps you would like to trade? Just take care not to burn this batch."
Inu-Yasha growled and bit into her blackened fish. "Thanks, but no thanks, Priest," she said. She then almost gagged on the crispy flesh and had to gulp them down quickly to keep from gagging again. She then stomped over to the bank of the stream, growling all the way, and gulped down a gallon or so of water.
Miroku watched her as she stood again and stomped back to he fireside where the priest was sitting. She reached down, picked him up by his tunic, started to hold him up to her face and then remembered what he had done earlier and chose instead to put him at arm's length. She said in as threatening a voice as she could, "Look here, Priest-- I ma NOT a GIRL, you got it?"
Miroku looked at her, cleared his throat and said, "I agree."
"Well, at least that's some progress," she muttered and placed him back on the ground.
"You are a woman!" he said seriously, latching onto her arm yet again and making with the smoldering eyes.
Inu-Yasha yelped in surprise at the monk's tenacity--not to mention thickheadedness-- and picking him up by his tunic, flung him away from her and into the trunk of a tree that was surrounded by bushes.
She stood there panting in surprise and frustration, her face giving off heat.
Miroku popped up again, undaunted. He picked some leaves out of his hair, and, parting the bushes, came back onto the grassy area that was serving as their campground.
he plunked down by the fire and pulled his fish out. He proceeded to nibble them delicately.
"What are you doing in the forest, anyway, Monk?" asked the dog demon from several yards away.
He sighed theatrically. "Please... it's Miroku."
"Monk, Priest, Houshi, Lech, Perv.; take your pick," she growled .
Miroku smiled a little and then replied, "Looking for gorgeous women." He winked and got smacked in the head with a rock. He chuckled a little and said, "No really, I'm looking for a shards of the shikon no tama." He looked at her to discern any recognition.
Inu-Yasha tried to hide her surprise whilst Miroku took another bite of fish to cover up that he was scanning her. "Heard of it?" he asked after he finished the fish.
Inu-Yasha sneered. "Of course. What would a human like you want with it anyway?"
Miroku lifted his right hand. "This." The hand was wrapped in fabric and had a string of prayer beads wrapped around it.
Inu-Yasha pulled out the Tetsusaiga. "I can cut that off for you," she said with a gleam in her eye.
Miroku shook his head. "Thanks for the offer, but I'll take my chances." He took another bite of fish.
Inu-Yasha shrugged and putting the sword back into its scabbard, said, " Suit yourself," and sat back down. "What's wrong with it?"
"My grandfather was attacked by a powerful demon who escaped him by passing through his hand. The hole that it produced became a vortex that grew larger all the time. It eventually swallowed him. It was passed on to my father, and after that, myself. The only way I can get rid of it is to kill the demon who did it. If I don't succeed then I will have to have an heir to carry on in my place." Miroku took another bite of fish.
Inu-Yasha was quiet for a bit. "Sucks to be you." Miroku nodded. "What's that got to do with the Shikon Jewel, though?" she asked.
"I'm hoping that the demon who did it is also one of the demons after the Shikon no tama and I hope that by gathering it, I can draw him out for one last battle."
"Hm. How many shards you got?..." she asked nonchalantly.
Miroku arched an eyebrow at her. "I' m a lecher--not an idiot," he said and smiled.
Inu-Yasha eyed him. "What makes you think I want them?"
Miroku shrugged and took another bite of fish. "It's best not to take chances, don't you think? Especially since it's a half-demon named Inu-Yasha who's been trying to find the shards." Miroku paused while Inu-Yasha turned red. "At least, that's what the rumors say..." There was a silence.
"I'll trade them to you if you'll sleep with me."
Miroku was beaned in the head with another rock and immediately righted himself like a daruma.
"For the last time, you pervert, I am a man. I'm going to bed," and with that she leapt into a tree.
Miroku smiled to himself. Winning her over would be fun. She seemed nice enough under her rough exterior, too. Maybe a little screw was loose, but.....
"May I join you?" he yelled to the treed dog-girl and was immediately struck by a large tree branch.
Inu-Yasha crept out of the tree quietly. Miroku the priest was nowhere to be seen. The fire had died to nothing and the forest was alive with birds, glad to have morning back.
She looked around cautiously, and sniffed the air. Wherever he was, he hadn't gone far. The whole place smelled like their fire, though, so it was hard to tell. She'd have to be quick if she was going to leave him behind.
Inu-Yasha leapt tot he ground and set off into the forest, bursting onto the path right in front of the priest in question.
She looked at him in surprise. He looked at her smugly and with thinly veiled satisfaction.
"Good morning. Miss me already?" he asked with a smile.
Inu-Yasha faltered, turned red and began to sputter. "This--this--this-- isn't what is looks like, Lech! I wasn't coming after you. Don't flatter yourself."
She turned hotly onto the path and stormed ahead. Miroku smiled to himself.
"Where are you headed?" he asked after a bit.
"Where ever there are Shikon shards," she growled at him.
"In that case, there are some in my--"
"I don't wanna' hear it!" she yelled back at him.
Miroku shrugged. "Why do you want the Shikon no tama? If... you don't mind me asking."
"Two reasons and neither of them are your fucking business," she growled hostily, thought for a moment and then added, " and if you tell me I should watch my language, you'll be pulling that staff out of your ass."
"Kinky," he replied. "It's too bad, though, cause I had a good line."
"I bet you did," she muttered bitterly.
They walked on, Inu-Yasha seething and Miroku just generally walking in silence. It went on like that for half an hour or so when Inu-Yasha overcame her anger and noticed that the priest wasn't coming on to her.
"Oi--" she said, turning slightly. "What are you so quiet for?"
"Hm?" said Miroku, meeting her gaze. "I was just thinking."
"About what," she demanded suspiciously.
"Oh, nothing," he said with an innocent look on his face.
"Keh. Lech," she disparaged, facing forward.
A few more minutes passed.
"Actually," said Miroku, "to be honest, I was wondering if you had a tail."
"Hah?!?!?" she let escape in alarm. "GYI!!!"
Miroku's hand rested on her buttocks. "I don't feel one..." he said with genuine perverse curiosity.
"AAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!" she screamed in a combination of surprise disgust and rage. She frantically whirled around to face him, her face ablaze with mostly embarrassment but quite a bit of anger as well.
He looked at her innocently and rose to his full height.
Inu-Yasha backed away from him, one arm covering her breasts and her other arm gripping the Tetsusaiga. (which she had again grabbed out of habit even though it wouldn't transform to fight the human and didn't look very impressive as a rusty old sword) which she placed in front of her person. It was shaking as she fought the urge to do the priest bodily harm.
"You---I---- would ya'---what---you---" Inu-Yasha was going a bit catatonic again.
Miroku gently took hold of the sword and before Inu-Yasha could protest or react he placed it back within the scabbard, gave her a smile and walked past her on the path.
And was soon after clobbered by a giant boulder.
They reached the village at about half past twelve Inu-Yasha a bit frazzled looking, worn out by Miroku's almost constant harassment, and Miroku looking a bite like he's shaken hands with moving train.
"End of the line, Houshi," she said gruffly. She raised her hand, waving him off and said, "I'm outta' here."
"And here I was hoping we could work together," he lamented, laying on a guilt trip.
She gave him an icy look, "Are you serious? I was hoping I'd beaten some fucking sense into you on the way here. This is where we split up. I'll find the shards on my own."
Miroku smiled slyly. "Well, you have to come get them eventually if you want the whole Shikon no tama, so I'll see you then." He winked at her and she gave him a sour look knowing that he was right. To that he smiled sweetly and said with a wave, "Bye-bye, Inu-Yasha-chan."
"For the last fucking time-- I AM NOT A GIRL!" she screamed. The village came to a relative standstill as everyone looked at the recently arrived and very loud demon-dog and her more conventional looking travelling companion. The bellowing she'd done at the top of her lungs was quite intimidating even if it was coming from a girl.
Miroku covered his eyes at her complete social ineptitude and proceeded down the dusty road to the resident shaman/shamaness/priestess or whatever which is always a standard in villages, to ask about any irregular demon activity.
A murmur of whispers began as Inu-Yasha chose a different route and she walked up to a man in a happi and greeted him in customary Inu-Yasha fashion.
"Oi-" she said with a jerk of her head. "You heard about any demons around?"
The man looked at her blankly. She could smell his fear and confusion. There was a little anger mixed in with it, probably due to his having been addressed so gruffly by a girl.
Them man simply stared, his eyes unblinking.
Inu-Yasha rolled her eyes, grabbed her ears and said in an exasperated voice, "Demons? You know--Akuma? Youkai? Akurei? Mita koto ga aru?"
Blank.
"GRAUGH!" she growled. "Forget it." With that she stomped off to kind another villager to terrorize.
Evening was getting underway. Inu-Yasha had stopped bugging the villagers after a while. Most of them had been too scared to give her an answer to any questions. She looked pretty unstable and the way she'd come roaring into town hadn't been the best way to make friends.
She sat on a low-hanging tree branch that was just close enough for her to jump onto a house roof, if she chose to, without any effort.
Her search was leading nowhere. At least when she had Kagome she wasn't so bored. The girl could also sense the Shikon fragments. She also seemed to be a trouble magnet. Not that Inu-Yasha wasn't. It's just that there always seemed to be some sort of force pulling them to where they needed to be when she had Kagome around.
What's she doing, I wonder... she thought idly. Luckily, before she ruined her memories of Kagome by remembering that she had Sesshomaru with her, she heard a slightly loud "clack" and looked in the direction the sound had come from.
There was the priest with a ladder leaning up against the building by Inu-Yasha's tree.
What's he up to? she thought in contempt.
The priest reached the top of the cabin with the thatched roof and hauled himself on top of it, bringing a cloth sack with him.
Inu-Yasha's eyes narrowed as he opened the sack and produced--- an onegiri. He looked up at the tree and smiled. Inu-Yasha shrank back and prepared to jump off the branch.
"Where're you going?" Miroku asked.
"Someplace where I won't have any neighbors," she huffed.
"Pity. I've got enough food here for the both of us. Come on. I promise not to make you uncomfortable," he said, patting the roof.
"Keh! That's impossible," she said, but she hopped down from the branch, much to Miroku's satisfaction, and took the onigiri from his hand. She made sure to sit to his left and hoped he got the message, but he didn't seem the least bit insulted. Fah. Maybe he doesn't know court culture, she thought and huffed that her insult didn't work. With that little frustration eating at her she shoved the whole onigiri into her mouth.
Miroku stiffled a laugh and looked a bit embarrassed for her. Well... demon's aren't exactly known for their manners... I thought for sure she'd at least know to sit to my right, though...
He handed her a flask.
"Wha'zis?" she said with her mouth halfway full of rice and seaweed.
"O-sake," he said as he tilted it toward her.
Inu-Yasha eyed him and then grabbed the flask, drinking the liquid. It wasn't the wost osake she'd ever had, but it could have used some warming up, that's for sure. It really cleared her sinuses, anyway.
"Fweh!" she said after the drink loosened her up a bit. "I never did care for that stuff 50 years ago and I still don't like it," she fanned her tongue.
Miroku chuckled and took the drink from her out-stretched hand. Her last statement had confused him, but he let it slide. He liked the taste, personally, but it dulled the wits and those were his favorite things. He also didn't like it on account of the fact that the monk who'd taught him was a bit of a lush and Miroku had always blamed his ill health on the brew. Alcohol made you more susceptible to demons, as well, he reminded himself with another chuckle. He glanced at the dog-demon who was currently gobbling another onigiri using her left hand and rummaging through the food bag with her right. He hoped she'd try to "suscept" herself to him. Grrowr! That made him laugh outright and he got a weird look from the girl in question. She popped the last of the onigiri into her mouth and went rummaging again.
Miroku decided he should eat, too, but thought it best to wait until her hands were out of the bag. He had promised, after all.
"So you are Inu-Yasha, then?" he asked, staring up at the sky and humoring his poor, deranged demoness.
"Keh! Of course." The onigiri had long since been eaten and the two had started on the sake again. After finishing it off, neither of them felt much like moving and they both had begun watching the night sky. The half moon was very romantic, or at least Miroku thought so, and he thought that if he could ju-u-u-u-st keep her talking long enough, he could get over to her, inch by inch and...
"But, I could have sworn that Inu-Yasha was travelling with a priestess...." he reasoned.
"Keh! That idiot Kagome?" Inu-Yasha shook her head. "She's no priestess. Just some kid who got real unlucky and was born with weird powers. She's not even a miko--her family just runs a shrine..." she yawned.
.................................................................
Kagome's head came off her pillow as she woke up from her dream and sneezed delicately. Sesshomaru let out a "hm?" and the two sat bewildered for a minute before Kagome put her head back down and snuggled into the covers again.
.................................................................
"Hm..." Miroku wondered how far her psychosis went. She'd actually given a backstory to the girl. "Do you like her?"
Inu-Yasha began to sputter and rant. "That idiot?!? Hell no!" This was exactly the wrong person to be expressing her "hatred" of Kagome to, but Inu-Yasha wasn't exactly ready to be honest. She wasn't exactly thinking either. "She's got no frikkin' sense of time, she's always late, she makes me 'sit' AND she brought my brother--my fucking brother who only recently tried to kill er--home with her."
.................................................................
"Hachoo!" Kagome rubbed her nose. "This is so weird," she said groggily. "Maybe I'm coming down with something..."
"Katchoo!" came from the end of the bed.
"Maru-chan?"
.................................................................
Inu-Yasha stared at the sky angrily. "All in all, she's the worst thing that ever happened to me," she lied. Well, it was only a half lie. She was the worst thing, because she made Inu-Yasha rethink her values, her goals, hell, even her reason for being. But, she was also the best thing, and that tortured Inu-Yasha-- knowing that she had so wholly become a part of his life that she didn't want to lose her. She didn't love her. Not really, but she knew that without her, she'd be so infinitely lonely. Kagome'd been the closest thing she'd had to a family since Sesshomaru started trying to kill her. It had never even been like that with Kikyo.
Kikyo... she thought quietly and sat up, he mood suddenly more sour.
Next to her Miroku rose as well. "Ah? What is it?"
Inu-Yasha waved her hand to silence him and began a walk toward the edge of the roof. She looked silently into the forest.
"Miroku." She didn't turn.
The priest was surprised and his face showed it. "Y-yes?" he tried to get to his feet quickly, but the alcohol they'd ingested was having more of an effect on him than it was on Inu-Yasha and he ended up staying put.
"Thanks for everything, but... I got no room in my life for friends..." she said flatly, thinking how Kikyo had betrayed her.
Miroku looked a little dejected, but gave a sad smile and said, "I understand. That way you don't get hurt, right?"
Inu-Yasha flinched and bitterness crept into her as she let out a low growl.
Miroku shuffled around on t he thatched roof and slowly rose, going to stand beside the half-demon. He smiled with a little sigh.
Inu-Yasha turned an eye toward hi warily, supposing she was about to be groped. Miroku only nodded in a North-Eastern direction and said, "There are reports of a couple of lightening demons that were headed in that direction. All accounts say that they're attacking other demons, so there's probably some Shikon shards involved."
Inu-Yasha was surprised, at first and then smiled smugly. "Thanks. You're still no closer to getting in my pants--but thanks."
The priest looked at her in mock offense. "Moi?!? try to get into your pants? Surely you jest!"
"Feh," she scoffed.
Miroku straightened up. "Still. I'm looking for the shard, too, so it's a race now. Make no mistake about that. If I find the demons first, the shard are mine."
That's more like it, she thought. Competition, I can handle, Inu-Yasha smirked. "It's been fun. Catch ya' later."
Miroku nodded his goodbye as she leapt off the roof.
He tilted his head to one side and watched her as she flew off. "Hmmmmm? Definitely no tail," he said absently.
End of chapter 8.
How was that, huh? Hope everyone liked Miroku's character. Boy, did that take a long time to type. Thank you to everyone who keeps reviewing (although traffic is a bit slow, lately--maybe I should type more often.....). Keep it up! It helps me get motivated enough to write this thing. Hope no one minds that I finally gave the chapters names. I hope they're okay.
And the moment you've all been waiting for! The new chapter listing! Hope the chapter title is pretty self-explanitory.
Next: Chapter 9: Maru-chan's Bane! The Kagome/Hojo date